1. Field of the Invention.
The invention relates to sealed disk drives and means to reduce humidity inside the drive.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art.
The best prior art known to Applicant is shown in Ser. No. 646,537 filed Sep. 4, 1984, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,248 granted Oct. 28, 1986 and assigned to the present assignee. Applicant incorporates by reference the contents of this application.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,248 discloses and claims a relatively long narrow tube communicating between outside air and the interior of a sealed disk drive. The tube, so constructed, allows pressure equalization between the inside and outside of the housing during disk drive operation, but also retards water vapor diffusion into the housing. Humidity increases friction, particularly static friction, between the head and the magnetic surface, which undesirably reduces disk/head life.